OFFICIAL INSPECTIONS 53. 139 



nitrate. If much more is present it is liable to loss from leach- 

 ing. If much less is present the plant will not have enough 

 immediately available nitrogen. Most of the manufacturers do 

 not appear to attach sufficient importance to this feature. They 

 frequently substitute ammonium sulphate or organic nitrogen 

 for nitrate nitrogen, seeming to have only the total nitrogen in 

 mind. 



Even a cursory examination of the tables will show figures 

 that bear out the above statement. This is as true of the high 

 as of the low priced brands of fertilizers sold in the State. Arid 

 also it seems to apply to a large number of the makers. It 

 would seem that one should have the right to expect that the 

 goods would be uniformly made and mixed. The variations in 

 character of the nitrogen content seem to indicate that too little 

 importance is attached by the manufacturer to the forms of 

 nitrogen in a definite brand. 



Feeding stuft's are sold on a chemical analysis the same as are 

 commercial fertilizers. In the case of compounded feeding 

 stuffs the feeder has not been content with knowing the amount 

 of protein, fat and fiber that the goods contain but he has 

 insisted, and the law demands, that he be informed of the kinds 

 of materials that enter into the compounded goods. The sources 

 and the kinds of plant food entering into a fertilizer are as 

 important to the planter as a knowledge of the kinds of mate- 

 rials put into a feeding stuff is to the feeder of animals. The 

 knowledge of such facts is often as important, and in special 

 cases more important, to the planter than are the quantities of 

 total nitrogen. The heavy losses in crop arising a few years 

 ago from the use of a certain brand of fertihzer, that is no 

 longer sold within the State, was due to the make-up of the 

 mineral sources of nitrogen rather than to a shortage of nitrogen 

 in the fertilizer. The chief reason for many planters using 

 home-mixed goods is the knowledge they have of their com- 

 position. Now that the attention of the planter is being called 

 to these variations in the make-up of fertilizers he may demand 

 changes in the fertilizer law so that the kind and amount of 

 constituents entering into the manufacture of a given brand of 

 fertilizer must be stated as part of the brand. It is largely up 

 to the manufacturer to determine by his practice whether leo-is- 

 lation will have to be. sought, in order to correct this serious 



